A Different Universe
by Athena'sOwl36
Summary: When Percy fell asleep in his cabin, he wasn't expecting to wake up in the middle of one of Hera's plans. Especially not one that involved another universe. Now he has to get through another Titan War and get stronger, per Hera's instructions. But the real twist? He has to deal with another HIM who didn't side with camp.. Follow what really happened when Percy was taken by Hera.
1. Chapter 1

**Dislaimer: I don't own anything**

Before he woke up in a strange place, Percy had been having a great evening at Camp Half-Blood. Dinner had been delicious, as always. The sing-a-long was fun, and the campfire had been bright yellow and at least fifteen feet high. Everyone was cheery, and he and Annabeth had seen each other for the first time in several weeks. They'd been going to have a wonderful break. He'd given Annabeth a kiss goodnight, and headed to his cabin. The last thought he'd had was 'I can't wait for tomorrow!'

But this wasn't what he'd envisioned as 'tomorrow'. He was situated in a smallish bed with white framing and blue sheets, in a huge white room with a domed ceiling. There were windows every ten feet across the walls. Twelve statues were strategically placed on the floor- one of each Olympian god or goddess.

Percy thought that, while you could tell who was who, there were a lot of differences between the looks of the statues, and the looks of the actual gods.

For one thing, Zeus didn't have a floor length beard, at least, not in this time. For a moment, Percy wondered if the statues portrayed the Olympians in a younger age. He questioned if Hera had really worn dreadlocks. They didn't really seem her style. But who knew? Maybe in the olden days, dreadlocks had been the errant queen's favorite look.

As he continued to observe the room, he noticed a couple of small trees spread around the room. They were maybe six feet tall, with thin trunks and bushy leaves. There were small budding flowers spread throughout the branches. Percy took some comfort in them. They somehow reminded him of home, and of Camp.

Where was he? How did he get here? And more importantly, how was he going to get out? There wasn't a door, and he was getting a really bad vibe from the windows. Something told him that trying to get out through them would result in really, really bad consequences.

"You're quite right. Attempting to get out of this room through those windows would be disastrous. I won't tell you why, though. It might upset your stomach."

Percy leaped out of the bed and turned to face the visitor. "Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me, Percy Jackson? Is it not obvious?"

He instantly realized who it was. How could anyone forget her? "Queen Hera."

"Yes… Although, you will soon come to think of my name as being something different… Not permanently, of course, but still…"

"Why am I here?" Percy asked.

"Right to the point, aren't you? It's actually quite rude at times, didn't you know?" At that moment, Percy didn't care if he was being rude. He'd woken up in a weird room after falling asleep in his cabin at Camp, with no idea what was going on.

Of course, since he was talking to Hera, Percy probably wouldn't have cared if he'd been rude in the middle of a perfect day at Camp. "Why am I here?" he repeated.

"Tut, tut. No manners. Oh well. I suppose I can't blame you. So let's see… Yes. You have been brought here because you need to be kept safe- away from the forces that are beginning to awake."

"Kept… safe?"

"Yes. You need to be tucked away where the forces that will seek you will not be able to get to you."

"What 'forces'?"

"A goddess more powerful than you could imagine and her followers." Hera responded.

"Do I want to know who this goddess is?"

"Probably. But telling you now would only take up time. Anyway, I expect that you will figure it out soon enough."

"What makes you think that?"

"Percy, it really isn't that hard to figure out who it is. She does rather love to embellish herself. Quite annoying sometimes- always some form of dramatics as she attempts to bring about the destruction of the world.

"Whoa whoa, hold on a sec. What do you mean, 'the destruction of the world'?"

"World domination. The end of the era of the gods."

"This again?" It seemed to Percy that this was a rather repetitive part of the world.

"Perseus, this is no laughing matter. This goddess… She is greater than Kronos. Greater than all of the gods, and the titans…"

"If she's so powerful, why hasn't she already taken over already?"

"Because, miraculously, we were able to put her to sleep. She has not awakened for millennia. But now she is beginning to. And if she fully wakes… It would be a complete disaster. Even now, while she still slumbers, she has her influences on the world."

"What influences?

"Earthquakes and the like. She occasionally goes after people's minds, and interferes with major decisions. You'd find that many disastrous events actually started with one of her seeds in someone's mind.

"So, just who are we talking about here?"

Hera didn't seem to want to talk about that. "That's not the subject of point right now. I've let us get off topic. So back to where the subject involves you." She paused, as if thinking everything through one last, quick time.

By now, Percy was getting impatient. Hera could at least get to the point of all of this instead of drawing things out while she claimed that there was no time to waste on discussing what was going on. "So are you going to tell me?"

"Patience, young hero. Of course I am. I was just thinking things over. Nothing like this has been attempted in quite some time. Percy Jackson, I am going to send you to another universe."

Percy was stunned. Another universe? Was the queen of the gods absolutely nuts? What other universe was there? And how exactly was he supposed to get there? He didn't voice those though. Too risky- he may not like Hera, but that didn't mean that she couldn't blow him to smithereens if she wanted to. He didn't want to sound that hugely disrespectful right to her face. Instead he said "Uh… Another universe?"

"Indeed. You see, if you are in another universe, this world's happenings cannot affect you there. And if you are going to be there as long as you are, it makes sense for you to be able to improve your powers. Grow stronger. And you can't die in a universe that is not your own. After all, you weren't technically even born there, and if you didn't exist, then you can't die. It's quite brilliant." Hera beamed, the earlier discussion forgotten for the moment.

"Um… Okay… Why would I be dying?"

Hera looked off for a moment. "Oh, you'll find out when you get there. You'll have plenty of time to figure it all out. After all, you'll be a resident for about 6 months."

"6 months!" Percy was furious. He didn't want to be away for 6 months, especially in another universe. His life was finally looking good. He was dating Annabeth. No powerful beings other than monsters and a few select gods were trying to kill him. And so far, he hadn't been kicked out of school, which was almost a brand new experience for him.

"Yes. I believe 6 months will allow for the proper events to take place. It's all part of my plan. The seven heroes of the great prophecy will be united."

"So the second great prophecy has started? So soon?" All other thoughts temporarily left Percy's mind. Really? He'd just finished off the first great prophecy a couple months ago, and now he was being told that the second was already happening? Unbelievable. Or rather, very believable, considering his luck.

"Yes. It is. And you are among them."

"Great."

"Hmm… But let's get on with it, shall we? We need to get you sent on your way, don't we? There isn't much time to waste if the world is to be saved."

"Wait. Who said I would go?"

"I believe I did, Percy. And I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in the matter. Much as I would like for you to cooperate, I don't need you to."

"Fine, then. Can't I at least say good bye to everyone?" Percy was desperate now.

"No. My plan partially depends on the reactions to your sudden disappearance from your cabin. Anyway, if you would please go pick one of the buds, we could get started." She pointed to one of the trees. Percy went over and picked one, then brought it back. Hera sniffed it, daintily. "Ah yes. This one will work splendidly. If you could just stand over there by your bed? Yes, perfect. Now, please eat this bud."

"Eat it? Why?" Percy had resigned himself to his fate for now, but that didn't mean he was going to let it happen so quickly. Who knew? Maybe someone would miraculously show up and get him out of this whole mess.

"Because I said so, that's why."

"That's not an answer."

"It's beside the point. Percy, you will be eating this bud, like it or not, and you're going to do it now."

"Says who?" he retorted.

"Says me." Hera's eyes were gaining a dangerous glow now. It would really be in his best interests if he complied. At least he'd tried.

Percy took the bud, stuffed it in his mouth, chewed for a moment, and then swallowed it. Immediately, he felt drowsy. He dreamed he was watching the scene from above. His body collapsed onto the bed as Hera murmured an incantation over him. As he drifted off, he kept thinking, it must be a dream. Gonna have to tell Annabeth and Chiron as soon as I wake up. Figure out what it means. Tell Annabeth… He didn't get any further in his thoughts, as his consciousness disappeared, and he felt himself floating away, like waves were drifting him out to sea.

**Review Please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine**

The thing about waking up in another universe is that it leaves you feeling weak and shaky. As Percy slowly drifted back into consciousness, he became aware that his body felt like it had been freeze dried, stuck in a microwave on high for a bit too long, and then stuffed with a bunch of nasty substances. There was a high pitched ringing in his head that was really annoying, and he could barely move any part of his body. He struggled to open his eyelids. After a fierce 10 second battle, he succeeded.

He appeared to be lying in Camp Half-Blood's infirmary. All the details were the same as he last remembered them, right down to the poster of the satyr. He was confused for a moment. Had last night's events just been another dream? He doubted it- it had felt so real… But then why was he in the infirmary, at Camp? Deciding to get up and go ask someone, he tried to sit up. He managed it, barely. Once he was up, he felt a little better. The ringing in his head was starting to fade a bit.

He looked down to do a brief inventory of himself. All fingers and toes? Check. All limbs intact? Check. Any new scratches? No. Good.

Hearing footsteps, Percy looked up and saw a girl, maybe 15 years old, with shoulder length black hair. She walked up to him and said "So you're up? Great! I was worried that you would be lying there for days and days."

"How long have I been out, then?" Percy asked.

"About 6 hours. We found you, passed out, just inside the boundary. What happened to you?"

"I'm not really sure…" Percy trailed off.

"Well, in any rate, your body is in good condition physically, although you still look pretty weak. Oh!" She suddenly turned and ran into another room. A minute later, she returned, carrying a glass of nectar. "I can't believe I almost forgot to give this to you." Smiling, she handed him the glass. He took it, and quickly drained it. It tasted just as good as always- his mother's homemade cookies. It was also just as effective- he could feel his strength returning to him, slowly but steadily.

When he was finished, the girl took back the glass and set it down on a table across the room.

"So what's your name?" Percy asked. He didn't remember seeing her anywhere at Camp before.

"I am Emmalime Elaine Copper. It's kind of a weird name, but I like it! It's unique. Anyway, everybody mostly just calls me Lima, since I love lima beans so much. I'm a daughter of Apollo. This is only my second year here, but I'm already one of the best medics!"

This was Lima's second year? How was that possible? Percy knew everybody that went to Camp, and he'd never seen Lima before in his life. A sinking feeling started in his stomach.

Lima continued. "I couldn't believe it, you know? One minute I'm in school, learning about all of this boring stuff that I'll never use in my life, and the next minute, I'm here, learning to fight off monsters and heal people!" Lima's face turned darker at that part. "Of course, I'm healing people a lot more these days- what with the war going on and all…"

"What war?" Percy was getting kind of freaked out now. First, this really weird dream. Then he wakes up in the infirmary, then a girl who's been here for two years, and yet he's never seen her before in his life, is his medic, and now there's a war going on that he's never heard of.

"… We'll get to that later. For now, you should probably go talk to Chiron. He wants to ask you some questions."

* * *

><p>10 minutes later, Percy was seated on a couch, waiting to talk to Chiron. 'Finally, some answers', Percy thought. Surely Chiron would know what was going on.<p>

At that thought, Chiron walked in. He turned to Lima and said "I think that will do, Lima. You may return to your regular activities."

"Sure thing, Chiron! Let me know if you need me to do anything!" With that, she practically bounced out of the Big House.

Chiron turned to Percy. "She's always so energetic. I wish everybody could be like that during these times… But we're here to discuss about you. What's your name?"

"You mean you don't know who I am?"

"I'm afraid not. Should I?" At this statement, Percy was forced to accept that last night's crazy dream hadn't been a dream. Hera really had sent him off to another universe. But what kind of alternate universe had so many similarities to his?

"I don't really know anymore…"

"Would you care to explain?"

Percy recounted the previous night's events to Chiron. "And then I ate the bud, and I passed out, and then woke up in the infirmary, here."

For once, Chiron looked stunned. "So the queen of the gods sent you here to keep you away from a powerful goddess who is rising and who would use you to assist in the destruction of the world?"

"That's what she said, yeah."

Chiron's expression turned thoughtful. "So you will be a resident here for 6 months, and you are supposed to train and get stronger?"

"As far as I can tell."

"I suppose we'll have to further your training as best we can, then. We can't have Hera bringing her full wrath down upon us. So what is your name?"

"Percy Jackson."

For the second time in as many minutes, Chiron looked stunned. "Your name is Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah. Does that name mean something to you?"

Slowly, Chiron answered. "Yes. It means a great deal to me…" His volume had gradually decreased until it was silent. He seemed to be gazing off into the distance at some painful memory.

"What does it mean to you?" How was it possible that Chiron had heard of him if, according to Hera, he had never existed here?

Chiron slowly drifted back into the present. "Percy Jackson… He was a camper several years ago. But then he left us to join…" Chiron trailed off again.

"Join who?"

"Perhaps I'd better start at the beginning of the story. It might not make much sense to you otherwise."

"I'm listening."

Sighing, Chiron began. "It all began about 4 years ago, I suppose. Zeus' lightning bolt had been stolen…"

In amazement, Percy listened to his adventures being told- from when he was searching for the master bolt all the way up to the Battle of the Labyrinth. Almost all of the events that Chiron described were exactly as Percy remembered. But then Chiron began to finish the story.

"Everyone was so relieved- we had fended off a massive attack with relatively few injuries. Only, a month later, Percy seemed to change. His personality was different- more like Luke's. He became sour toward the gods. No one could believe it when he disappeared from Camp. It seemed so unlike him… In any case, we discovered a note left in his cabin, telling us that he was joining with Luke to bring down the gods and help Kronos rise. We've seen him several times since- always aiding those he once despised. I'm afraid the Percy we knew is long gone. I also suppose that either he or Western Civilization will fall, since he is the only child of Poseidon, Zeus, or Hades to be nearing his 16th birthday…" Trailing off, Chiron stared off into the distance again, his face pained.

Now it was Percy's turned to be stunned. There was another version of _him_ here. A version of himself that had joined Luke and Kronos. And there was another Annabeth. And another Grover, and another everybody else at Camp, plus some other faces. And on top of that, he appeared to have jumped around in time a bit. 'I guess that answers the question of why I might be dying here' Percy thought. 'It would be just my luck to get killed off in another universe by another me…'

But Hera had said that he couldn't die in this universe, because he'd never really existed here. But there was a Percy Jackson here. But was that really Percy Jackson? But, but, but. It was just too confusing to think about.

He decided to ask Chiron. Hopefully, he would have an answer regarding his mortality status. "You wouldn't by chance happen to know if I can be killed or not here, would you?" Percy quickly told Chiron the problem.

"That is a difficult question. It wouldn't be like the queen of the gods to be careless enough to lie about whether or not you could be killed… And I would guess that, in regards to the 'because I've never existed here, but there's another version of me here' situation, that the Percy Jackson originating from this universe is essentially different from you in your personality enough so that the two of you are completely different people. In that case, technically, you have never existed here. At any rate, I would not attempt to test the theory."

Nope. Definitely would not want to test that theory out. Percy had no wishes to go to the Underworld the hard way anytime soon.

He decided to put the whole business behind him for now. It wouldn't do for him to blow brain cells trying to figure out the situation- he'd be left with a huge headache and a lot of wasted time. As it was, he had a migraine coming on. So instead, he asked what he should do now that he was stuck here for half a year.

"For now, I suppose I'll arrange for someone to give you a tour- get you acclimated to this universe. You may tell people about your situation as you see fit- I won't tell a soul. Well, except for the gods, of course. You are a son of Poseidon, correct?" Percy nodded. "Just checking. You may want to be cautious around the campers- you'd be a big deal, being a child of the Big 3. Try not to tell them until tonight during announcements. Anyway, let me go get Lima- she loves giving the tour. And then tomorrow, we can begin your training, assuming you are ready."

"Oh, I'm ready. I can't wait to use my new skills to whack the back of Hera's godly head."

* * *

><p>A half hour later, Lima was giving Percy the tour of Camp. Most everything was the same as Percy was used to, but there were several changes. For one, the volleyball courts and the cabins seemed to have switched places, as had the climbing wall and the armory.<p>

Thankfully, the cabins themselves remained unchanged. Percy ducked into Cabin 3 for a moment to take a deep breath. It calmed him a bit.

"Oh! Careful- risky business, going into a Big 3 cabin- you never know what might happen!" Lima exclaimed.

"So you have experience in that matter?"

"Well, no. But Annabeth told me all about it. She said it was risky, and that you should always be careful going about it."

"And you trust her word on that?"

"Of course! She's a daughter of Athena, and she hasn't been wrong about much yet. Well, except for… " Percy guessed she'd been about to finish her sentence 'except for Percy…'

He made a mental note to find Annabeth and ask her about what had happened. Chiron, while he had told the whole story, had tried to be a bit vague on some of the particulars.

"But anyway, let's not get into that topic right now! You shouldn't be worrying about any of that stuff yet. What did you and Chiron talk about?"

"Oh, you know- just, how I got here and stuff."

"I thought as much. Anyway, it's about time for dinner. I've gotta go! You'll be going with the Hermes cabin- all the unclaimed campers do. Just be careful about where you leave any of your valuables."

With that, Lima ran off towards the Apollo cabin, leaving Percy to his thoughts.

* * *

><p>After going over to the Hermes cabin and getting his sleeping space decided, the conch horn sounded. The order of the line up to go to dinner was still of seniority, so for the second time in his life, Percy was at the end of the line. It was odd, being there. He was so used to being alone by now. But it was kind of nice to be with the other campers, instead of being all alone at Poseidon's table. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel sadness for the unclaimed campers who still had to stay in the Hermes cabin in this universe.<p>

Dinner was uneventful. Percy prayed to Poseidon to try to help him out as much as he could. He wondered what his father thought about having two versions of his son to worry about. It probably wasn't the most relaxing position to be in.

At the campfire, Chiron decided to tell everyone what was going on with him. "Campers. We have a new addition to our ranks. Please welcome Percy." He gestured for Percy to stand up. Percy did, and gave a little wave.

"He is a son of Poseidon, come from, ah, a very different place." This sentence sent a ripple of whispers running through the crowd.

One camper stood up. "Could he be the one of the prophecy?" He looked hopeful.

"I would doubt it."

"But-" He was cut off by Chiron.

"In any scenario, this is not the time to be figuring things like this out. In the meantime, please do not bombard Percy with questions. He'll be having a hard enough time adjusting. I promise, though, we will discuss this at a later date."

The camper sat down, looking unhappy. A lot of the other campers looked that way too. Percy supposed that it was a lot for them to take in to- a son of Poseidon bearing the same name as their once friend turned enemy.

After an hour, during which time many people stared at Percy, everyone finally went off to their cabins to go to bed. In his cabin, Percy lay down and tried to sort through all of everything.

In the end, he decided to just give up and try to think through everything the next day. He wondered what was happening back in his universe. Everyone was probably worried about him- Annabeth likely going nuts. Unless, of course, the timeline got messed with again, and they didn't even know he was gone yet or something.

Thoughts like these kept going through Percy's mind over and over again as he fell asleep much more peacefully than he had the night before.

**Thank-you to zeynel and percyjackson987 for reviewing! I hope this chapter was okay!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! I am _so_ sorry for the super late update... Anyway, here's Chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me**

* * *

><p>What never failed to surprise Percy was how realistic demigod dreams were.<p>

This time, he started off back at Camp- _his_ Camp, where everything he knew was. He was watching breakfast happening. Everyone looked worried- especially, when he looked over at the Athena cabin, Annabeth. She looked as if she hadn't slept in a while.

Chiron looked troubled, unsurprisingly. Percy wondered how long he'd been gone. An hour? A day? More? Who could say?

Everything faded then. Next he knew he was overlooking some city that looked a lot like Rome- there were aqueducts, temples, even a replica of the Coliseum.

There was some guy with blond hair flying around in the sky, brandishing a sword. Guard duty, perhaps? The guy looked pained- almost like he knew something bad was going to happen any second now. The image wiped away, and Percy was witnessing a conversation between Kronos and this universe's version of himself.

He was back on the Princess Andromeda, in the room where he had first seen Luke back on the quest for the Golden Fleece. Kronos was now sitting on a throne, and the other Percy was kneeling in front of him in a reverent position.

Kronos was saying "-job. It was well performed."

"Thank you, Lord."

"Your next assignment is to handle the border situation. It has gotten far too out of hand. I want it finished, and the city under control. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Good. You have three days to clean up that whole mess. Then I want you back here to begin your training with Oceanus."

"Understood, my Lord. Do you have any specifications as to how the border situation should be handled?"

"No- I just want it done quickly!"

"I will not fail you, Lord."

"See that you never do. You know the consequences. Now leave me! I expect a successful report in three days time."

With that, the other Percy nodded, stood up, bowed, and walked out of the room. As soon as he left, Kronos looked confused. He shook his head violently, and then looked around. He almost stood up, but then shook his head again and sat back down, looking angry now.

The dream faded.

In the morning, Percy awoke peacefully, which surprised him. Normally, after having dreams like that, he was shaking, or moaning, or doing something that resulted in him waking up- like falling off of the bed.

The dreams had been disturbing. First, there was the part where he'd watched his universe go about breakfast. Then, he had seen some blond guy flying around a replica of Rome. And then there had been the scene between Kronos and the other him. That section had been the worst, but at the same time, the best, because towards the end, Percy thought that Luke had tried to regain control of his body. That could mean that Kronos could still be defeated in this place, like he was in the other. Hopefully, that was true.

Breakfast was tense. All of the other campers were staring at Percy, and then quickly looking away as soon as he looked in their direction. Whispers ran among them- discussions about who he was, where he'd come from, and whether or not he'd be much help for the war. No one came over to ask him anything though. Chiron had been fairly clear last night that he was to be left alone for the time being. Percy was grateful for that. He didn't feel like explaining everything just yet.

When they'd all finished eating, and most of the cabins had headed off to their morning activities, Annabeth came over, leaving Malcolm to handle the morning activities for her. This can't be good, Percy thought. She looks like she's ready to kill me to get answers.

Arriving next to him, Annabeth wasted no time in saying "So you're a son of Poseidon."

"Uh, yeah."

"Care to explain how we didn't know about you before, and how you're still alive? Monsters would've killed you out there years ago."

"It's kind of a long story…" Annabeth looked expectant. "Like a _really_ long story that is super messed up."

"Do you think I care? You're a son of the Big 3, you look like you're around 16, your name is Percy, and you look vaguely like the guy that betrayed us all. I bet you know a lot about Camp Half- Blood too. And I bet that your last name is Jackson, and your full first name is Perseus."

"Why would you think that?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're like an older version of Percy, and from what I know; you have a lot of similarities with him. I don't believe in coincidences. So explain."

Faced with a determined Annabeth, Percy gave in. An hour later, Annabeth was in on everything. She was taking the news pretty well, but she still looked shell-shocked.

"So… Wow. I did not see that coming," she said, staring at the valley from their vantage point on a hill.

"Nope."

"And you swear on the River Styx that all this is true?"

"I swear it on the River Styx." Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Annabeth looked slightly mollified. "But this is what I don't get. How is this all possible? I mean, universe traveling to another universe where almost everything is exactly the same as yours? Who can do that?"

"Apparently Hera can."

"Well, yes. But how can Hera do that? How does it all work?"

"You think I know?"

"I was hoping you might have an idea, yes."

"I'm not sure. All I get from the whole thing is that eating that bud and whatever incantation she said got me sent here."

Annabeth's face scrunched up, like she was thinking as hard as she could. "Ugh! I hate it when I can't figure things out!"

"I know."

She turned to face him. "So in your universe, we're dating?"

"Yeah… That makes it kind of awkward, doesn't it?"

"You think? Gods, I must be going nuts. I know I would be if I had a boyfriend who suddenly disappeared out of his cabin without a trace." She blinked. "This is so weird. How are you standing it- being in the same world as another you?"

"Not easily, I can tell you that."

Annabeth laughed. "Understatement of the year. I'd probably be just standing there, completely stunned, by now."

"I doubt that. You'd probably take it better than I am- you can always figure stuff out so fast."

"Well, hopefully, we never find out. Anyway, what do you think you're supposed to do here, other than train and get stronger?"

Percy thought about it for a second. "I guess to help you guys out. I mean, why else would Hera send me back into the Titan War?"

"Yeah, that does make sense. You'd be a huge help- like having our Percy back on our side." Annabeth's expression turned pained.

"So what happened to him? Why did he switch? I know I never even considered that prospect."

Sighing, Annabeth began. "Truthfully? My best guess is that he saw something in the aftermath of the Battle of the Labyrinth that made him switch sides. I don't have a clue what it was, but it must've been something huge. Nothing less could have made him do it."

"Chiron says that no one could believe it when they found that note."

"No, no one could. I mean, I guess we ought to have been expecting it, after the way he'd been acting, but…"

"He was so against Kronos that you never even considered the thought that he might actually join him."

"Exactly. So, anyway, now we all dread his birthday, since that will probably be our demise. I can't say I expect to him to make a decision to save all of Olympus. Although… Could the prophecy refer to you? You are technically the first child of the Big 3 to reach 16, even if you've already passed the date. And in this universe, you haven't yet, so…"

"I wish I knew. My hope is that Hera will contact me in a dream and tell me what the whole deal is besides 'train and stay away from the forces of this yet to be named goddess'."

"That's another thing that bugs me. According to Hera, this goddess is more powerful than Kronos, right?"

"As far as I can tell."

"So is she going to make an appearance here?"

"I wouldn't bet on it yet- who knows. But first, you need to get out of this whole mess with Kronos, assuming that's even possible."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Obviously. It's just… I don't know. I'll think about it tonight."

"There's one other thing..."

"Yes?"

"I had a couple dreams last night."

"Go on."

"They were really weird…" Percy described his visions of the previous night. Annabeth listened intently, and when the part about Percy and Kronos, and potentially, hopefully, Luke, came up, her eyes seemed to glow with some fierce emotion.

"So basically, your universe is worried about you, there's a replica of Rome, and Kronos, who might still be fighting for possession of Luke's body, is lording something above Percy?" she asked.

"Basically, yeah. And there's also some border situation going on that Percy is being sent to handle, and then he's going to begin to train with Oceanus."

Annabeth's eyes were intense in an expression typical for a daughter of Athena- like a billion thoughts were going through her mind all at once. "That must be the Canadian border. There've been several skirmishes up there. But I'm not sure which place they're talking about… I'll ask Chiron. This could be a great chance to get some sort of a leg up against Kronos if we can figure it all out. And it'll likely be the last time we get a chance to try and talk to Percy, if he's going to be trained by Oceanus." She paused. "Do you really think Luke is going to be able to fight it out?"

"He did in my world."

"I hope you're right."

"Me too. I also hope that we can maybe get Percy back on our side. I don't think I could be the prophecy child- it just doesn't make any sense for me to be in this place. And if Kronos really is holding something above him…"

"You're right. There might be a chance to get him back. But I doubt it. That month before he left… He was really aggressive about protesting against the gods."

"We can always hope."

"Yes, we can." Annabeth turned her head to gaze off at some point in the distance. After a couple seconds, she turned back to Percy and said "Come on. Let's go talk to Chiron. I want to ask him about this replica of Rome and about the whole mess about there being two of you. Plus, I want to know why he didn't recognize you when he first saw you. That doesn't make sense."

No, that didn't make any sense. It was really odd. Why _hadn't_ Chiron immediately recognized him? For that matter, why hadn't Lima? Why hadn't anyone really recognized him?

Annabeth finished her statement. "And I think we're going to have to call a war council to discuss the border situation."

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><p><em>Thank you to my reviewers!<em>

_PeaceLoveAndCheese: Thank you for pointing that out! I'm hoping to get that all cleared up in the next chapter._  
><em>zeynel: Yeah, I'm excited! I think I've got something really interesting planned!<em>  
><em>BookReader10: Thanks!<em>  
><em>Luna Dare: Yeah, that's what actually kind of inspired me to begin this fanfic:)<em>

**I hope this chapter was decent! I'll try and get the next chapter up by Wednesday at the latest. Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I know it's not enough to just say sorry, because I haven't uploaded in soo long. I'm kicking myself about leaving it off... I hope the chapter is good enough to kind of make up for it, though.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

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><p>Considering the circumstances, everyone was pretty calm when Annabeth told the cabin leaders about Percy's dream. There were some skeptic looks and disbelieving faces, but no one doubted the information when Annabeth came to the part about the border situation.<p>

"Just what border are we talking about?" asked Clarisse. "We can't help or do anything if we don't know where we're supposed to be going."

"I'm thinking it's the Canadian border, but I don't know which part." Annabeth grimaced. "We're hoping that Chiron will know."

"Yes, yes. And it's all fine and dandy if he does know, but how do we know we can trust what Percy says? He just showed up yesterday, and he's yet to do anything that earns him my trust." That was Michael Yew.

Annabeth glanced over at Percy. "We can trust him."

"How do you know? I mean, we thought we could trust Jackson! He was the guy with the most credibility here! So what makes this guy so trustworthy?"

"Don't bring him into this! We don't know why he switched."

"I thought it was pretty obvious from that note."

"Well, whatever. Percy isn't him." Percy noticed the little spark in Annabeth's eyes. Technically, he _was_ him. "We can trust what he says."

Michael sighed in disgust. "But how do we know we can? All he's got is your vouch. We don't know anything about his past, and Chiron says that he's a son of Poseidon. He even shares a name with Jackson! And then Chiron forbad us from asking him about it all! How suspicious can you get?"

Firmly, Annabeth repeated, "Chiron trusts him. I trust him. For the last time, Michael, we can trust his word. So could you drop the subject please?"

Michael relented. "Fine. But we better find out about him pretty fast."

Percy decided to step in. "Guys, look. I know you don't trust me and all, but please believe me when I say that I hate everything Kronos stands for. I could be a big help to you. I have no intentions of helping Kronos-"

"Humph. That's what Jackson said too. And then he went and joined him." Michael grumbled.

Percy hesitated before answering. "I'm not this Jackson guy that betrayed you. I really want to help." Feeling slightly guilty, since he was 'that Jackson guy', just a different version, Percy finished and awaited judgment.

It was Silena who spoke up first. "Well, I, for one, feel like we can trust him for the time being. We don't know where he's been or anything, but I believe what he says. I think we can trust him. And he's right. We don't stand a chance against Kronos right now. Any help we can get, we should take." She looked expectantly around the table.

Not surprisingly, Beckendorf was the next to speak up. "I agree- I trust Annabeth and Chiron's word, and we seriously need some sort of an edge."

One by one, the others all gave their consent to trust Percy. Even Michael yielded, to everyone's surprise. "It's not like I can veto this. For me to refuse would only get us arguing, and we can't afford to do that a whole lot of that right now."

With that matter settled, Clarisse repeated her first question. "So what's this border situation? We need to find Chiron and ask him."

"Obviously," Annabeth said. "But why isn't he already here? I forgot to ask earlier."

That surprised Percy- since when did Annabeth forget something?

Katie answered "I think he's trying to contact Olympus."

"That makes sense. Okay, so, before we adjourn for now, is there anything else we need to go over?"

Pollux spoke up. "I have one question. What was the deal with that dude flying around in Percy's dream?"

"Yeah- and a replica of Rome?" Clarisse chimed in. "That doesn't make sense. Where do you find a replica of Rome complete with a flying guard?"

Looking visibly disturbed, Annabeth responded. "That's another thing we were planning on asking Chiron."

"Then let's adjourn quickly so we can get some answers." Beckendorf said.

"Agreed."

The war council quickly adjourned.

As everyone else was leaving, Percy and Annabeth stayed behind.

"So, what do we do now?" Percy asked.

"Now, we find Chiron and have a very long conversation with him."

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><p>Chiron was surprisingly hard to find. Annabeth and Percy checked the mess hall, the cabin field, the armory- even the stables. But no matter how hard they looked, Chiron was not to be found.<p>

"Where could he be?" asked Annabeth, frustrated, as they plopped down onto a grassy hill.

"I don't know. We checked everywhere!"

"This is so annoying. Normally I can find him in a heartbeat. And now…" She put her head in her hands and pulled at her hair.

"Yeah, it's so weird. What could he possibly be doing?"

"Who knows? Anyway, come on. Let's go ask around. Maybe somebody else has had the good fortune to spot him." They stood up and walked over to the cabins.

Oddly, as they got there, an arrow shot out of nowhere and hit a tree trunk. There was a yelp, and a camper sprang out behind the tree and started running. An Apollo girl soon followed, shouting angrily. She looked as if she'd been getting into fights with everyone. Across the field, the rest of the cabin looked pretty much the same, all covered in dirt and muck and blood.

"Oh no…" Annabeth groaned. "Not this again."

"What is 'this'?"

"The Ares cabin must've cursed the Apollo cabin- they pick out fights with everyone over the smallest things. It takes forever to clean up the mess, and they drag as many people as they can into the thing. The last time it happened, 20 people ended up in the infirmary, as well as the entire Apollo cabin, and so many things were broken…"

"Does this happen often?" It sounded backwards to Percy. In his world, it was normally the Apollo cabin cursing the Ares campers.

"At least 4 or 5 times a summer, usually. Thankfully, it only lasts, like, 2 days. Come on- we won't be able to break it up. I want to find Lima- she spends so much time at the Big House and the infirmary, I'm amazed she hasn't moved in yet. So she'll probably know where Chiron went."

"Isn't she cursed right now?" Lima was a daughter of Apollo, after all.

"No- she's almost never around the cabins, so the Ares folk have a really hard time hitting her with curses. She was probably at the infirmary when it happened. But she'd have come back after the fights started to break out- she always insists that there must be some way to get her siblings to stop fighting while under the influence of the curse. She's wrong, of course, but she always does her best."

"So she's out stopping fights?"

"No- she's probably in the cabin testing out some weird concoction on some of her siblings to see if it reduces the urge to fight."

True to Annabeth's word, Lima was in her cabin, staring intently at two of her younger brothers. She was saying "Do you feel like fighting? Or has the rage calmed down? Or has it escalated?"

The one on the right answered "Jeez, Lima. Slow down- one question at a time. And no- I still feel like punching someone's guts out."

"Same here!" The other boy chimed in.

"But you're not punching me or anybody else right now, which must mean something went right…"

"Whatever you say. Come on, Johnny, let's go." The two boys rushed out and started looking for someone to pick a fight with.

Lima looked after them. "One of these days, I'll figure it out, and then it'll be so much more peaceful around here. Wouldn't that be so nice? Anyway, what do you guys need?"

"We were wondering if you knew where Chiron went. We've looked everywhere for him, and we can't find him." Annabeth replied.

"And we have some really important questions for him." Percy added.

"Huh. Let's see… Um, I think he said he was going to be in the woods."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"It beats me. Anyway, he said something about it being important, and that what he was doing wasn't something that you could do everything for in the Big House. But other than that, I won't be much help to you guys."

"Oh, well, thanks."

"You're totally welcome. Hey, would you tell me if Johnny or Mark starts to act weird? I think I'm on to something this time!"

"Yeah, sure thing." Annabeth told her.

"Awesome!" Lima beamed. "Well, see you at lunch!"

"At lunch."

They walked out of the cabin and started heading for the woods.

"So, do you have any idea of what Chiron is doing that he has to do in the woods?" Percy asked.

"No. In all my years here, I've never heard of something like this. Chiron must have a really good reason to be doing it now, though."

"Yeah. What part of the woods do you think we should be checking?"

"I'd say probably Zeus's Fist first. It's a big landmark, and maybe has some significance to completing old processes. Plus, the entire Battle of the Labyrinth started because of the entrance there."

"Sounds good."

They trekked their way through the trees until they reached the pile of boulders. Looking all around, Chiron was not there. "Maybe the creek," Percy offered. "It's got importance to do with Percy."

"Okay. Let's go."

But after reaching the creek and walking all along it, they still couldn't find the centaur. This proved to be true for all of the places they could think of. Percy figured that Chiron must be doing something very secretive to be this hard to find. "Maybe we should just give up the search," he said. "I don't think we're going to be able to find Chiron in the woods, and he has to come to lunch, right? We'll just go up to him afterwards."

"I guess you're right. But I'm dying to know what he's doing. There's no way that he should be this elusive."

They started to make their way back to the cabins. When they got to the field, Annabeth told Percy "Well, if you see him before lunch, come get me."

"I will."

They parted ways, each heading for their own cabin.

When he got into his, Percy headed straight for his bunk and plopped down onto it. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to take a long nap, but lunch would be any minute now. He lay there, thinking about the morning's events. The meeting had gone about as well as it could have gone, but the search for Chiron… What on earth could he possibly have been doing? It was so weird. The conversation they had with him was sure to be an interesting one.

His thoughts moved towards the other Percy. Kronos was holding something above him, that much was pretty obvious. But what was it? It could have to do with friends or family. Maybe Kronos had gotten hold of his mom. The thought sent an icy chill through Percy. In this world, that was a very real possibility of what could've happened.

But it didn't explain the behavior for the month or so before he left. A kidnapping wouldn't result in a total personality change. No, it likely wasn't something to do with a hostage. So what was it?

Percy spent the rest of the morning thinking of ideas, and then tearing them down. He eventually decided to ask to read the note that had been left behind. Maybe it would hold some clues.

When it was time to go to lunch, Percy made quick time to the mess hall and sat down at his table. Sure enough, Chiron was present. When the Athena cabin had sat down, he looked over at Annabeth, and she nodded at him.

Lunch couldn't proceed fast enough. But eventually, it ended. While everyone was filing out, Percy saw Annabeth whisper something to Malcolm. He nodded, and she started to head over to Percy. When she reached him, she said "Come on, let's go catch him."

They walked over to Chiron. "Chiron, can we talk to you?" Annabeth asked.

"Of course."

"At the Big House?" Chiron raised an eyebrow.

"Very well, then. I trust this has something to do with the entire situation with Percy here?"

"You could say that."

"Then let us not wait."

They made their way to the Big House, and sat down at the tables on the porch, Chiron standing nearby. "So, what is it you would like to know?" Chiron asked.

"There are a lot of things." Annabeth responded.

Percy added "Like, where were you this morning? We searched practically every inch of the whole camp looking for you."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "That is a question I cannot answer right now."

Annabeth looked stunned. "Why not?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss my actions of the morning."

Annabeth started to say "But-", but was cut off by Percy.

"Okay, so we'll leave that conversation for later." He looked pointedly at Annabeth.

She glared at him. "Fine. I guess next would be the border situation."

"Border situation?" Chiron questioned.

Annabeth explained about Percy's dream. "So, do you know where it is? If we could intervene, it might be a chance to deliver a blow to Kronos, and it might give us an opportunity to find out about Percy- maybe even capture him. Because if he's about to get trained by Oceanus, this is probably our last chance."

At this statement, Chiron looked very surprised. "Kronos is sending to Percy to handle a border situation? You are absolutely sure about this?"

"Yes." Annabeth said confidently.

Chiron sighed. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice but to try and reveal everything to you. We will discuss this later."

Both Annabeth and Percy started to protest, but Chiron said firmly, "This matter is not one to be taken lightly. I will tell you, rests assure, but I will have to tell the entire war council. Call a meeting for tomorrow morning. It will take a long while to explain everything. Is there anything else? I now have preparations to make that will likely take the rest of the afternoon."

Glancing at Annabeth, Percy hesitantly responded. "There is one more thing…"

"Go on, Percy." Chiron prodded.

"Well, it's just that if I'm another version of the Percy here, then don't I look just like him? It's like no one here recognized me by my looks, except for Annabeth. She says I look like an older version of him. But everyone else, including you… You were so surprised when I told you my name. But why didn't you recognize me?"

Chiron looked sharply at Annabeth and said "Annabeth is this true? He looks like an older version of our Percy?"

Annabeth looked confused. "Yeah- same basic features. They're just aged a bit." She looked over at Percy. "He's even got that little gray strip of hair."

Chiron suddenly looked intensely at Percy. "A gray strip, you say… I don't suppose… Oh, I don't believe it!"

"Don't believe what?" Percy asked. "And why are you looking at me like that?"

"Percy, my boy, I'm looking at you like this because since you got here, I've been seeing a pale, brown-eyed 16 year old with sandy brown hair. And I suspect that apart from Annabeth, that is what the rest of the camp has been seeing too."

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><p><em>Again, thank you to my reviewers!<em>

_Spazthe1st- Here's the update, finally!_  
><em>zeynel- Yes... and more people will likely know soon... There will be some interesting conversations to come!<em>  
><em>PJOHPHGlove- Thanks! And you are right on two accounts- you can't hide from Annabeth. And Hera is most definetely stupid. Feel free to ramble!<em>  
><em>Liberty Girl In the Sky- Thanks:) Your update is at last here.<em>  
><em>Bookaholic27- Thank you so much! You kicked my butt into gear!<em>


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh gods... I'm absolutely mortified by how long its been since I last updated... Feel free to throw things at me.**

**Disclaimer: Do I look like Rick Riordan? Nope.**

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><p>Maybe Percy should have been surprised by the news, but so much had happened already these past couple of days that his ability to feel shock had kind of worn off.<p>

"So… You've been seeing me as someone else?" he asked.

Chiron nodded. "Even now, it is hard to see past the mist to your true appearance."

"Wait," said Annabeth, "If the mist is so strong around him, then why can I see through it with no problem? Why am I unaffected?"

"That, Annabeth," Chiron replied, "is a very good question. One that I suspect the queen of the gods alone knows the answer to."

Percy groaned. "Hera _again_? Man, I've had enough of her screwing around with my life for a lifetime. And she's just gonna keep messing with it until her plan works out, isn't she?"

"It is likely, my boy. Queen Hera can be very set in her ways and hard to stop when she has her mind on something."

Percy indulged in another groan and turned to face Annabeth again. "I completely understand your irritation with that goddess. I knew she was awful before, but she just brought things to a whole other level."

Annabeth looked pleased to be proven right, but then her face turned more serious. "All the same, you need to be careful. Who knows what she's going to try to pull next."

"But back to the matter at hand," Chiron butted in. "Your false appearance…"

"What do we do about it?" Percy asked.

"For now, nothing. I will speak with Hera and find what her reasons are. I'll tell you about them tomorrow after the war council. But for now, don't let on anything to the other campers that the brown-haired boy is just an illusion. We need to know what Hera's reasons are for creating it first."

"Okay, Chiron." Annabeth promised. "We won't tell anyone. But this is only temporary, right? We can tell the others the truth soon?"

"I hope so. But it will depend on Hera's will…"

Annabeth looked like she was about to protest the keeping of the secret some more, but then closed her mouth and looked resigned. "Got it…"

"Good. Now, was there anything else you needed to talk about?"

"Well, I had a couple of questions." Percy answered. "But they can wait until tomorrow. You said you had a bunch of stuff that you had to get done today."

"Indeed I do. I will leave you then, and go finish my preparations."

"See you at dinner."

"Bye, Chiron."

The centaur walked off towards the woods again, both Annabeth and Percy watching him.

Annabeth suddenly turned to Percy. "Come on."

"What? Where are we going?"

Wearing an exasperated look, Annabeth said "We're following him, of course. What's so secretive about his preparations? I want to find out where he's been going. Are you coming or not?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Good. Then let's go, before he gets too far ahead to follow!"

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><p>The two followed Chiron for what seemed like forever. They were going east into the woods, deeper and deeper. Finally, Chiron stopped. Percy turned to Annabeth and was about to ask her if she knew where they were when he saw her troubled expression and decided to ask later.<p>

This part of the woods seemed no different from any other part- what made Chiron single it out as a place to make preparations? And why did Annabeth look so worried?

Putting the questions out of his mind, Percy turned back to watch Chiron. He'd stopped by one of the trees and was running his fingers along its trunk, as if looking for something. He seemed to find whatever it was and pressed his forefinger into a tiny crevice in the dark brown bark. After he did, there was a groaning from the tree, and then it _shifted_.

Percy rubbed his eyes. Was he really seeing this? He'd known trees could shift and grow at a whim if they needed too, but he'd never seen one do it at the simple press of a hand in a certain spot… Looking at Annabeth, he saw that she was looking more and more disturbed with each passing moment. Opening his mouth, he whispered her name.

She whipped around and glared daggers at him, daring him to say anything more. Percy held up his hands in surrender and mouthed the word 'sorry' to her. After remaining under the pointed glare, he mimed zipping his mouth shut and gestured back towards Chiron. Slowly, she turned around to watch the scene unfolding with the tree.

The tree was still shifting, seeming to split right down the middle. The hole continued to grow until it was centaur-sized, forming a gateway to... where? Chiron stepped through it without hesitation. Annabeth was about to jump and follow him through, but Percy grabbed her arm and pulled her back. When she glared at him again, he shook his head, refusing to back down this time. They had no idea where that gateway would lead, or if they could even get in safely. And would Chiron really not notice them if they went through? They were sneaky, but who knew what circumstances they'd be facing if entered.

Accepting that she wasn't going to win this one, Annabeth shook her arm out of Percy's grasp and twisted her head around to face the tree again. The gateway was already gone.

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><p>"What the Hades was he doing there? And where was he going? Why would he hide something from me?" Annabeth was furious, pacing back and forth at the edge of the woods.<p>

After seeing Chiron enter the weird tree and disappear to who knows where, Percy and Annabeth had trekked their way back to Camp. They hadn't talked on the way- Annabeth had been too busy with her thoughts, and Percy was too scared to interrupt them. But now, she was letting them all out.

"He tells me everything! Everything! He's never hidden something from me before. What was so important that only he could know about it?"

Trying to pacify her, Percy said "I'm sure he's got a really good reason for not telling. Remember, he looked terrified when you brought it up earlier."

"Yes, but-"

"Annabeth, he promised he was going to tell us everything tomorrow morning at the meeting."

"That may be true, but why couldn't he tell us when I asked? If he's going to tell everyone anyway…"

"He said he wasn't 'at liberty' to 'discuss his actions of the morning'. Maybe he couldn't tell anyone then, but he's going to get permission to tell us or something. If he swore something on the River Styx, then he would've been stuck."

Only slightly mollified, Annabeth muttered "I guess… But why? So many secrets… What are they?"

Percy said firmly "We'll find out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow…" she sighed. "Tomorrow will be very interesting."

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><p>That night at dinner, Percy scraped the best part of his brisket off his plate into the fire and prayed to both Poseidon and Hera. He wasn't expecting to get much of answer, if he got an answer at all, but he had to try. The entire situation was beyond him. Another universe with a turned version of him, a ridiculously powerful goddess back home, the beginning of the second Great Prophecy, something with Rome… He could go on and on, and it was all too much. He needed a push in the right direction if he was going to be able to do anything helpful.<p>

Returning to his empty table, he glanced over at Annabeth, who had already reseated herself. She was doing a remarkable job of hiding her anger and frustration from earlier, laughing with the rest of her cabin.

Once everyone was reseated, Chiron ran through his announcements. There was nothing out of the ordinary- he was probably trying to get the tense atmosphere of the recent days to relax a bit. Percy was glad to hear that capture-the-flag would be going on as usual.

Chiron's attempts to relieve the stress seemed to be working, for the most part. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly.

His dreams that night were a blur. Evil Percy was speeding along to wherever the border situation was in a black car. The Rome replica had smoke rising from its buildings, looking like it had recently seen battle. The blonde dude from earlier was arguing with an intense looking black-haired girl. Then he turned around and asked a guy behind him a question. The other guy looked like blonde dude's twin. Kronos was sitting on his throne, looking conflicted about something. He suddenly raised his head, eyes flashing gold.

Percy awoke sweating, his sheets hopelessly tangled. He sat up and somehow managed to kick them off, and then wiped his brow. He collapsed back on the bed and lay there, thinking about his dreams. Obviously, the replica of Rome had survived, if a bit damaged, from whatever had threatened it. He wondered who those three people had been… And how one of the blonde dudes had known something was going to happen. Maybe Hera had done something…

Catching himself, Percy put a stop to that line of thinking. If he started it, he wouldn't be able to stop, and he'd never get any sleep- and then he wouldn't be able to stay awake the next day- or was it today?- at the meeting.

He closed his eyes and managed to drift off again.

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><p>At breakfast the next morning, Percy tried to catch Annabeth's eye. He wanted her to know that he had some more information. When he succeeded, she seemed to understand and nodded at him, but mouthed 'wait until the meeting'. He nodded back at her.<p>

When the time came for the meeting, Percy could barely wait. He wanted to find out what Chiron had been up to. And he could only imagine how badly Annabeth wanted to know.

Once the counselors were all seated, Annabeth called them to attention. "Listen up, everyone. Chiron isn't here yet, but he will be in about 15 minutes. He said he had to go investigate the disappearance of some of the camp store goods. Apparently, something important got taken." She looked pointedly at the Stoll brothers, who ignored her dirty look and put on an innocent face. "So anyway, I thought in the meantime that Percy could tell us about his dreams from last night."

Everyone turned and looked expectantly at Percy, who cleared his throat and said "So… Well, I had more dreams about Rome 2- it looked like it had been damaged by a battle or something. There was a lot of black smoke. And then I saw the blonde dude arguing with a black-haired girl, and then he asked his twin something."

Annabeth interrupted. "The blonde guy has a twin?"

"Uh, yeah- unless there's something really weird going on over there too."

Narrowing her eyes, Annabeth nodded. "Go on, then."

"Well, after that, I saw Kronos sitting on his throne. He almost looked like he was having second thoughts, but then his eyes flashed gold. And then I woke up."

For a moment, all was silent. Clarisse was the first to speak up. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I still don't like knowing about Rome 2."

Silena added in "Yeah. It's just… A place like that… How could we not know about it? And are they on our side in this war, or are they fighting with Kronos, or are they totally unrelated?"

"Chiron will be answering that when he gets here." Annabeth said. Under her breath, Percy heard her add "Which better be soon."

"Okay. So all of those questions are gonna get answered as soon as he arrives. But what about Kronos? Was he really having second thoughts?" Michael asked.

Annabeth said hopefully "I bet he was. Maybe Luke was fighting him."

"Maybe…" Michael trailed off.

Thankfully, Chiron chose that moment to walk in. "I am sorry that I was unable to arrive on time. There was a matter to deal with at the camp store. Travis and Connor, I would like to have a talk with your cabin later today. Perhaps after your archery session?"

The twins nodded, but put confused looks on their faces. "Sure, Chiron. But why do we need to have a talk?" Travis asked.

"I'm sure you will be able to come up with the reason." Chiron replied. "In the meantime, I believe there is a rather urgent meeting taking place now."

"So tell us, Chiron. What do you know about the border situation? And what is going on with that replica of Rome?" Silena asked.

Grimacing, Chiron answered. "The border situation… It is very complicated. The border being spoken of is the border of the Rome replica. The city has been under attack from Kronos, and has had success at fending off his troops recently. Kronos is not happy with this, which is no doubt why he sent Percy to… deal… with it. He wants the city to be more vulnerable."

"Okay," Annabeth said. "Why does he want the city to be vulnerable so badly?"

"Because the city could pose a serious threat to him."

Katie entered the conversation. "Chiron, why does the city look like Rome? And if Kronos hates it so much, then why haven't we heard of it?"

Chiron was silent.

"Chiron, what's the big deal with the city? Why are you so reluctant to tell us?" Beckendorf questioned.

"The city… It is another safe place for demigods."

"What do you mean?" Annabeth demanded. "Another safe place, but we've never heard of it?"

"You've never heard of it because the gods have done their best to hide you from each other."

"Why would they do that?" asked Pollux.

Sighing, Chiron spoke. "Because in the past, meeting between the two of you have had devastating results. So much bloodshed… The gods were horrified by it. They ensured that such devastation would never come about again."

Percy spoke up. "But why would we fight them? We're both against Kronos now. What made us enemies?"

"Many things."

"Chiron, who are they?" Katie asked tentatively.

"…They are Roman demigods."

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><p><em>Thank-you to sillycrazy123, PercyJacksonsLittleSister, Quite Beautiful Tonight LG, human not, and PJOHPHGlove for reviewing! I am sooo extremely sorry at how long you've had to wait...<em>

_Please tell me what you think!_


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